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Israel and Hezbollah continue strikes despite ceasefire agreement
About two dozen people have reportedly been killed by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.
Local officials said 16 people had been killed in the Nabatieh district and seven in neighbouring Saida, with others injured, after Israeli warplanes, drones, and artillery targeted several areas.
A family of four - a father, a mother and their two children - was killed in the town of Barish in southern Lebanon, state media reported.
The Israeli military said it had struck "dozens" of Hezbollah targets after the group fired over 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in the region.
The US government has criticised Israel's ongoing operations in Lebanon, which was drawn into the US-Iran war when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
Washington also fears that the continuing tensions between Israel and Lebanon could undermine the US peace deal with Iran, which includes a commitment to end fighting on "all fronts" including Lebanon.
US envoy, Steve Witkoff, is reported to be heading to Switzerland for initial talks with Iran to help cement the agreement.
While it may have helped prevent a wider regional escalation for the time being, the deal leaves unresolved the central disputes at the heart of the conflict, including Israel's military presence in southern Lebanon and the future of Hezbollah's weapons.
A Hezbollah official told the BBC it does not recognise the ceasefire that was announced by US officials on Friday afternoon, and it rejects the Israeli objective to operate freely inside Lebanon.
Senior Hezbollah official Hassan Fadlallah said his group had the right to respond to Israeli attacks.
"What concerns us is that the enemy fully and comprehensively respects the ceasefire, and doesn't attempt to attack our country and villages or seek to occupy any new position," he said, as quoted in Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had "struck dozens of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites and terrorists in southern Lebanon".
The IDF said its strikes were in response to Hezbollah launching "more than 50 projectiles toward IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon".
"These attacks constitute repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement," it added in the statement.
Previous ceasefires between Israel and Hezbollah have still seen near-daily cross-border strikes, with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement.
Before Friday's ceasefire was announced, Israel said it had no intention of withdrawing its forces from Lebanon and had insisted that its conflict with Hezbollah was separate from the war on Iran.
Earlier on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said 47 people were killed and 97 wounded in Israeli air strikes, while the Israeli military said four of its soldiers were also killed.
Ali, a Red Cross first responder in Nabatieh, told the BBC that it was "the most intense night" he can remember.
Those strikes came a day after the US and Iranian presidents signed an initial peace deal aiming to end the war, including in Lebanon, with immediate effect, but strikes continued.
The consequences of the ongoing fighting are visible across southern Lebanon.
At hospitals in the south, exhausted doctors continue treating the wounded, while emergency workers increasingly find themselves on recovery missions rather than rescue operations.
At Najdi Hospital in Nabatieh, ambulances bypass the emergency room and head straight to the morgue. Ali says there is no more room inside, and through the doorway, bodies in white bags can be seen laid out on the floor.
Many residents had returned to their villages after previous ceasefires and temporary truces, believing the worst of the fighting was behind them.
"The problem is that we got used to it," Ali says. "I have been with the Red Cross for more than 30 years, and deaths now are only a number for us."
The two countries first agreed to a ceasefire in April, but this failed to stop the fighting. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his country's military to intensify its strikes on Hezbollah and advance deeper into Lebanon, after Hezbollah struck communities in northern Israel with drone and rocket attacks.
Ceasefire commitments have been repeatedly renewed since then, but followed by air strikes and attacks from both sides.
Netanyahu has been under domestic pressure to continue military action against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia Muslim political and military group in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has vowed to continue its attacks while Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon persists.
Earlier this week, the White House criticised the Israeli government's military operation in Lebanon, saying it risks scuppering the peace deal. But speaking on Friday as he unveiled a new Air Force One jet, President Donald Trump praised Netanyahu, calling him a "warrior".
Lebanon was drawn into this conflict in early March, when Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel. In response, Israel launched a bombing campaign across Lebanon. It is occupying around 5% of the country's territory in the south, with the aim of driving back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border.
Around a million people remain displaced, while dozens of communities in the south have been completely destroyed.
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Israel and Hezbollah agree ceasefire, US says, as more Lebanon strikes reported
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire, a US official says, following intense Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon that killed 47 people.
The latest agreement followed concerns that continued clashes, which also saw Hezbollah kill four Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, would undermine the deal to end the war between the US and Iran.
The Israeli military confirmed that a ceasefire was in effect, but later a spokesman said its forces would "continue to remove immediate threats".
Hezbollah is yet to confirm the ceasefire but its secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said: "The project to eliminate Hezbollah has failed."
Rescue officials in the city of Nabatieh told the BBC there had been at least 12 air strikes since the ceasefire began at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT).
The deadly escalation is another sign that Donald Trump is not necessarily in control of the fate of his deal with Iran.
The memorandum of understanding declared a ceasefire in Lebanon as well as between the US and Iran. But that has not been the reality on the ground, which has led Tehran to accuse Trump of failing to rein in Israel.
Trump himself has given fuel to this argument in an unprecedented set of accusations against his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting he has been senselessly killing civilians in his fight against Hezbollah.
The overnight flare-up in southern Lebanon poses more problems.
While the White House insists a ceasefire is in place, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the deaths of Israeli soldiers by saying "Lebanon must burn... For every tear shed by an Israeli mother, 1,000 Lebanese mothers must weep".
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of wanting "permanent war" and insisted that any breach of the commitments set out in the memorandum of understanding "will be attributed to the US".
Trump's deal relies on each side reining in hardliners and showing restraint - and there are few signs of that.
Netanyahu has been under domestic pressure to continue military operations against Hezbollah, while the Iran-backed group has said it would continue its attacks as long as Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon persists.
Following the latest ceasefire announcement, Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin said Israel would "continue to remove immediate threats, respond to Hezbollah's violations, and do whatever is necessary to protect our civilians".
Hezbollah's secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, on Friday declared: "The project to eliminate Hezbollah has failed, and the Israelis will withdraw from every last inch of our land."
Clashes erupted when Hezbollah said it had ambushed an Israeli group in southern Lebanon, destroying three tanks with guided missiles, and targeting troops with rocket and artillery fire. A battalion commander was among the four troops killed.
Lebanon's health ministry said that Israeli air strikes killed 47 people including women and children and wounded 97.
In the Nabatieh district, nine people were killed in Harouf, seven in Haboush, and six in al-Duweir, including a child, the health ministry said.
The country's state news agency had earlier described the overnight bombardment across the Nabatieh district on Thursday as one of the most intense of the war.
News of a ceasefire has been met with scepticism by displaced Lebanese people, who are doubtful Israel will abide by a peace deal.
One man told Reuters news agency: "The agreement is good, and we all want an agreement, but the Israelis don't abide by it.
"How many times have they made agreements? More than once, they don't commit."
The US State Department said direct talks between the Lebanese government and Israel would resume in Washington next week, aimed at securing a "lasting peace".
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meanwhile told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a "comprehensive ceasefire" under which "Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory" ended was needed for the Washington talks to progress, according to the Lebanese presidency.
Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran shortly after it began, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and occupying around 5% of the country's territory in the south, with the aim of driving back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border.
More that 3,900 people have been killed, among them women and children, and more than 11,600 others wounded since the latest conflict began, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Around a million people remain displaced, while dozens of communities in the south have been completely destroyed.
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Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 18 as Israel says four soldiers killed by Hezbollah
At least 18 people have been killed in southern Lebanon following a series of Israeli air strikes overnight, the country's health ministry has said - while the Israeli military says four of its soldiers were also killed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had struck 80 targets linked to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah and killed "dozens" of its members.
It comes a day after the US and Iran signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, including a permanent cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.
Both Israel and Hezbollah have carried out strikes against each other since the agreement was announced, raising questions about the future of the truce between the US and Iran.
The US-Iran deal calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, and for Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty to be respected.
However, Israel has said it has no intention of withdrawing its forces from Lebanon and has insisted that its conflict with Hezbollah is separate from the war on Iran.
Lebanon's state news agency described the overnight bombardment across the Nabatieh district of southern Lebanon on Thursday as one of the most intense of the war, with at least 18 killed, 33 injured and several buildings hit.
Hezbollah said it had ambushed an Israeli group in southern Lebanon, destroying three tanks with guided missiles, and targeting troops with rocket and artillery fire.
Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran shortly after it began, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and occupying around 5% of the country's territory in the south, with the aim of driving back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border.
At least 3,912 people have been killed, among them women and children, and a further 11,699 others wounded since the latest conflict began, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Around a million people remain displaced, while dozens of communities in the south have been completely destroyed.
Hezbollah has vowed to continue with its attacks as long as the invasion persists.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under domestic pressure to continue military operations against the armed group, which could put him on a collision course with US President Donald Trump, who has publicly criticised Israel's conduct in Lebanon.
Responding to the deaths of the four soldiers on Friday, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that "all of Lebanon must burn".
"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining," he said in a statement.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Friday that Israel must "respect" the deal and urged the US to put pressure on the Israeli government.
The US-Iran agreement signed on Thursday includes provisions on Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and commits both sides to pursuing a final settlement within 60 days, a deadline that can be extended by mutual agreement.
A new round of direct talks scheduled for Friday was delayed after US Vice-President JD Vance cancelled his planned trip to Switzerland to attend them.
Vance previously criticised the attitude of some members of Netanyahu's cabinet towards the deal, saying they should "wake up and smell reality".
"If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world," he told reporters.
Vance named Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as critics of the deal in an interview with the New York Times.
He said: "I guess my response to them would be - what is your exact proposal? You're a country of nine million people. You can't just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have."
Netanyahu himself stressed the importance of maintaining Israel's close ties with the US on Thursday, saying Washington had stood "shoulder to shoulder" with the country during the war with Iran.
However, that relationship has become strained of late, with leaks suggesting Trump has on several occasions vented his frustration with Netanyahu during phone conversations between the two leaders.
US officials have previously said that, while Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire framework, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory was not a condition of the deal and that Israel would retain the right to self-defence.
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Israel launches fresh strikes on Lebanon despite Trump criticism
Israeli forces have carried out new strikes in southern Lebanon, state media say, despite renewed criticism from US President Donald Trump of Israel's actions in the country.
Israeli drone strikes injured several people in Mansouri and Aaziyyeh on Wednesday, while jets attacked Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kfar Tebnit, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. Israel's military has not commented, but it did say five soldiers were injured in a drone attack in Lebanon by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
Mediator Pakistan has said the deal between the US and Iran to end the war includes Lebanon.
On Tuesday, Trump said Israel's prime minister needed "to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon".
Speaking at the G7 summit in France, he also said that Israel had been fighting Hezbollah for "too long and too many people are being killed".
Both Israel and Hezbollah have carried out attacks against each other since the US-Iran agreement was announced on Sunday night.
Earlier that day, an Israeli air strike on Beirut in response to a cross-border rocket attack by Hezbollah had put pressure on attempts to finalise the deal.
Trump told the G7 that he had a "great relationship" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said he "didn't like that he did an attack... that was too much".
He added: "Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did."
Netanyahu said on Monday that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon "for as long as necessary".
On Tuesday, after Lebanese media reported that four people had been killed in Israeli strikes, Iran's top military command warned Israel of a "harsh response" if it did not end its "malice" in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and invading a significant part of the country's south.
More than 3,800 people have been killed in Lebanon during the conflict, according to the country's health ministry, whose figures do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
Israeli authorities say 30 soldiers and four civilians have been killed on both sides of the border.
Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, declared in a televised address on Wednesday that the US-Iran agreement was a "great victory" and urged Lebanon to "benefit from this pivotal point".
He also said Lebanon's negotiations with Israel should be limited to issues of "mutual security", and that its main demand should be the restoration of its sovereignty through the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied Lebanese territory.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meanwhile, said his country was pursuing an "independent path" at its negotiations with Israel in Washington, but added that he was "in favour of a ceasefire and welcome the support of any country that helps us, including Iran".
The text of the US-Iran deal - referred to as a memorandum of understanding - has not been officially released.
Both sides were expected to sign the deal on Friday in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, Switzerland's Foreign Ministry told the Schweiz Heute newspaper.
Trump said he would likely hold a news conference to publicly read the agreement between the US and Iran "word by word".
He also said the deal meant Iran would "never have a nuclear weapon" and that the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway in the Gulf would reopen and be "toll-free".
Trump has argued this deal would be better than the one Barack Obama negotiated when he was president.
"We didn't pay for it like Obama did. He paid billions of dollars," Trump said on Tuesday.
Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the US and five other world powers, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities and allow international inspections in return for sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds.
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